Has anyone ever insultingly told you that you have the memory of a goldfish?
I hope you thanked them for the complement.
See:
There’s this silly notion floating around that goldfish are creatures of very little brain power – they don’t ever get bored because every three seconds they forget everything and they aren’t really capable of intelligent behavior.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
And today we are going to show you the hard-core, no-nonsense scientific PROOF that goldfish are smarter than you think!
Keep reading to get the scoop.
Researching into Goldfish Memory Spans
A researcher offers his opinion regarding the stereotype:
“A lot of people have the image of a goldfish with a three-second memory – and that’s not the case at all. There is a lot of evidence now that fish are no dumber than birds or many mammals – and in many cases they are just as intelligent. They can learn their way around mazes, they can learn to recognise other fish, and they can remember which individuals are better competitors.” – Dr. Mike Webster (source)
This is backed up by the facts.
Take, for example, a 15 year old student named Rory from Australia who did a simple experiment to test goldfish memory capabilities.
“I decided to get a bit of red Lego and just feed them next to that. Every day I’d put it in and sprinkle food around it. At first they were a bit scared of it, a bit wary, but by the end of the three weeks, they were actually almost coming before I put the food in.” Rory told ABC News
The boy then waited nearly a week before putting the red Lego back in again.
“They remembered perfectly well. They actually had a time faster than the average of the three feeds before I left.”
This proved that the training not only stuck with the goldfish, but they could call it to mind at a later date – far beyond three seconds 😉
But we’re getting started:
Take, for instance, the findings of studies at Plymouth University that show how goldfish remembered things for 3 months and can even tell time! (Source)
Their fish needed to nudge a lever in order to get food.
The researchers then made it so the lever only worked for one hour every day.
Guess what?
Those goldfish learned to only pressed the lever in the right time frame. At that feeding time, they even hovered around the lever in anticipation!
But if you STILL are in doubt…
Just listen to this last example:
Researchers in Israel trained some young fish for one month to come to food at the sound of a bell.
After that…
… They released the fish into the sea.
Now get this:
5 months later they played the sound over speakers.
And the fish all came swimming back!
Chances are, the Memory of a Goldfish is FAR longer than 5 months…
All of the times in those tests were set as the goal. Finding out when the fish actually forgot something wasn’t part of the test.
This means goldfish can possibly remember things for even longer.
For example:
As you may know, the carp is the granddaddy of the goldfish.
Goldfish are really modified carp, which look different on the outside but haven’t changed much on the inside (aside from perhaps more compressed organs in fancy goldfish, which makes them more sensitive when it comes to diet.)
Interestingly enough, carps that were caught on the hooks of a fishing rod avoided lures for at least a year!
So, exactly how long is a goldfish memory?
We don’t know 100% for sure…
It hasn’t been tested for long enough to find when goldfish actually forget something.
But judging by the evidence we’ve looked at, it’s safe to say they have as good a memory as most other small pets, which is at least several months if not YEARS.
Hopefully this article brings to light the nail in the coffin for this 3 second goldfish memory fallacy.
Key Takeaways
Things really change when you realize a goldfish memory may span MONTHS – not seconds.
Most who keep goldfish discover their pet is very quick to catch on where the food comes on, sometimes even being trained to beg at one side of the aquarium!
Dr. Culum Brown has studied fish behavior for over a decade and maintains that fish are intelligent creatures who learn the lifelong skills of avoiding predators and foraging for food.
He has this to say about whether or not it is important to make their habitat more interesting.
“Definitely – I think the more complicated you make your fish tank, the happier your fish is gonna be.” In fact, the best thing to do is to keep changing it around, so make it interesting for them. You’ll find that if you do that, your goldfish will be much more active and much happier in general.”
I used to be the person who only had bare bottom tanks with minimal decor because I was more worried about removing every speck of poop than my fish’s natural stimulation.
I’ve since changed my tune.
Now I strive to make sure my tanks mimic a natural environment, giving the fish lots if interesting places to explore and fun things to do.
For starters:
Take substrate.
Foraging behavior is an integral part of their natural daily patterns.
Take away the substrate, and that takes away a lot of stimulation that they would have in the wild.
Instead of obsessing about waste, I accepted it as a natural part of the mini ecosystem I call an aquarium.
Which brings me to my next point:
Adding live plants help mimic a natural environment…
… And gives the fish something fun to swim around.
Plus, it probably helps them feel more at home.
The best part?
Live plants use fish waste for nutrients!
The two work together.
Those two things – natural substrate and real plants – are HUGE strides towards a more stimulating fish tank.
But Don’t Goldfish Have Tiny Brains?
Fun fact:
A fish’s brain is 380,000 times smaller than the brain of a human baby.
So there’s no denying it is tiny.
It is true that they have small brains, but only in comparison to larger living things.
Their brain is sized in proportion to the rest of them, which is just as small in comparison to a person.
The bottom line?
Small does not mean stupid!
There are plenty of other animals, such as mice, birds and reptiles which have the ability to retain information for extended lengths of time.
Now I want to Hear from You:
Are you surprised to learn the mental capabilities of the world’s most popular finned friend?
I hope you are excited to know the TRUTH about the three-second goldfish memory.
Maybe you have experience in teaching your goldfish to remember something.
So:
Either way, leave your comment below to let me know what you think!
My 2 goldfish always swim around a corner where we always feed them, and they also follow me around everywhere i go well… only around the aquarium. Love this website,bought the book!
How cute, Mateusz! They do have such personalities, don’t they. Thanks for your support. 🙂
my proof that goldfish actually remember things: When ever I’m feeding the smaller ones, I tend to use a the net to shoo the big fish away from the food so that the small fish actually have a chance of getting food. Now whenever I place the net in the tank, I don’t even need to hold onto it; I just need to place the net into the tank and the big fish automatically go to the opposite side of the tank. Although that doesn’t stop some of them from sniffing around the net!
I believe it! Goldfish are so much smarter than people give them credit for.
I just brought in comets for my aquarium from my pond. Now I feel like I should put them back as her aquarium isn’t as nice as a large pond with all their friends.
I say this because I’m a new fish owner who has been convinced they have no memory. “I’m literally catching them nicely with a net thinking this isn’t fair but they don’t know the difference” my tank is 15 gallons. I figured when “they grow, they go!” And I’ll catch smaller ones. After reading this I completely feel like I’m not educated enough to decide their fate as they have a beautiful home out back. Remember; Nicely! Scaring them into my net just to culture shock them with my tiny tank. I appreciate people that have knowledge outside of the cliche. I think I’m going to acclimate them back outside. Thank you for this!
Sadly, a whole ton of people still believe it
Very true 🙁
This actually happened: One of my fish was lying on its side at the bottom of the aquarium, appearing moribund. One of the other fish hovered over it fanning it with its fins as if to resuscitate it. I reached into the tank, lifted the sick fish and began pushing it around the tank. When I stopped, the other fish took over and, to my astonishment began pushing it around in the same pattern that I had been using. The sick fish recovered!
My fish eat out of my fingers – they were suspicious at first.
Goldfish sure are amazing! Thanks for sharing your story, Olafs!
I am doing a science fair and my question is on goldfish lifespans. My goldfish is being trained to associate a bell ringing with feeding time, and whenever I ring the bell, he comes to the top of the tank. This website helped me form my hypothesis. Fish are so misunderstood, and my fish get to enjoy a 55 gallon, but there are other fish in tiny bowls. I wish I could help. My fish says hi! 😀
Totally agree with you, Wyatt. Cool experiment!
55 gallons! Wow! How many fish? or just one goldfish 🙂
There is a difference between memory of an isolated event, and conditioned memory (repeated associative memories, which enable us to train or condition small-brained animals to stimuli). There can be little doubt that the human brain is at the apex of memory capability far above almost all other animals. But there are a few, such as dolphins, whose long-term memory capabilities are very close to humans.
Interesting observations, Chas!
??
Way too technical stuff for me 🙂
I am doing a project on the myth of \”Goldfish have short memories\”. I was wondering if you knew how this myth originated, or began? Also, I foung this article very helpful! 🙂
Honestly I have no idea, sorry! Maybe whoever came up with that never kept goldfish 😉
I have that exact same project and I think I know you from school. I don’t know how it started though 🙁
My name is Cate, i’m sad because I think my fish don’t love me. I’m going to set out on a mission to prove my gold fish loves me.
I’m sure they love you as much as a fish can love, Cate!
Cate, you are not supposed to be texting on social media. You’re grounded.
My fish get excited when it is time for their meal. By that I mean, if I go near the tank at normal times, they just swim around and look at me, but when it is around time to eat, they know even before I do anything to give them food. They can tell time I think. They are also scared of my sister…
They are so smart aren’t they!
Whenever friends and family are here, they are fascinated that my three goldfish swim over from whatever they are doing to beg whenever I come into the room. When I leave the room, they go back to whatever they were doing before. If I am in the room but ignoring them, the oranda “pops” the surface of the water to make noise to get my attention. Such characters!
It’s so cute how they do that, isn’t it!
I\’ve owned my goldfish for 4 years now and he\’s sooo much smarter than I\’d ever thought a fish could be! He knows when I open the pantry door where his food is kept. He wiggles around like crazy and swims straight to the top of the tank does that \”popping\” thing too and waits to be fed. His tank is in my kitchen where he watches me when I cook too. Chet (my fish) is hysterical but as I\’m a novice…I\’m very glad to have found your site. Been doing everything by trial & error so he must be tough enough to live through my mistakes. Thanks for all your great knowledge! Will be purchasing your book!
How cute! Thanks for sharing, Karen! Chet sounds like quite a personality.